Linking machines



April 2, 1963 F. w. BECK ETAL 3,083,655

LINKING MACHINES Filed Aug. 10, 1960 5 Sheets$heet 1 nwewroks FRcoemcx WILLIAM Bee/t KENNETH :romv Btcu April 2, 1963 F. w. BECK ETAL LINKING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1960 //Vl/EN7'OS FREDERICK NILLIAH BtcK ke'mvern :roaw Beck April 2, 1963 F. w. BECK ETAL 3,083,655

LINKING MACHINES Filed Aug. 10, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 m/slvmes FAEDERIcK mu 1AM BECK KENNETH JOHN GEM Jain- 9d A.

A TOEIVE) A ril 2, 1963 F. w. BECK ETAL 3,033,655

LINKING MACHINES Filed Aug. 10, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 //vl/E/vms FREoER lax w/unm azclr KEAM/E'g! :ra mv azcx April 2, 1963 F. w. BECK ETAL LINKING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 10, 1960 m z-wroes FREDERI K N/zumv Bax United States Patent Ofiice 3,083,655 Patented Apr. 2, 1963 3,083,655 LHJKBNG MACHINES Frederick i V. Beck and Kenneth J. Beck, both of It? Talbot Lane, Leicester, England Filed Aug. 10, 1960, Ser- No. 48,698 Claims priority, application Great Britain Sept. 10, 1959 4 Claims. (Cl. 11227) This invention relates to linking machines, or linkers as they are usually called for the joining up, inter alia, of parts of knitted garments, such, for instance, as outerwear garments.

A linker, which functions either for stitching together such parts or to link the same loop for loop, conventionally comprises, in combination, a rotary dial which is furnished with a circular series of radially extending individual points adapted to pierce garment parts and to support the latter during a linking operation, a curved needle arranged to reciprocate radially and to work through the fabric or the loops on these points, and an associated looper movable with a combined motion both up and down and also to and fro transversely with respect to the reciprocatory needle, the latter and the said looper being co-operable, in conjunction with a stitch plate, to sew together garment parts on the points. The parts may be sewn together with either a single chainstitch or a combined overchain stitch and lockstitch. In the case of garment parts to be sewn together with a single chain stitch, only the reciprocatory needle carries a thread. To produce a combined chainstitch and lockstitch, on the other hand, the looper also carries a thread. But in either event, a bight of the needle thread inserted through the garment parts to be joined, by a preliminary advance of the needle, is first penetrated by the looper which is moved forward to receive it. By virtue of the penetration of the bight by the looper and the motion of the latter the said bight is opened up into a comparatively wide loop of approximately triangular shape. Then, as the needle retires for a first time through the garment parts, the looper moves to avoid the retiring needle. The needle is inserted through the garment parts for a second time and advanced again. Simultaneously, the looper is retracted to release and throw off the loop on to the advancing needle. As a consequence, the released loop slides back along the needle into the fabric to complete the stitch. Thus, as will be appreciated, there are two advances of the needle to one advance of the associated looper during the formation of each successive stitch. Moreover, at each advance of the looper, the loop produced by opening up a bight of the needle thread is caused to extend obliquely across the needle so as to facilitate subsequent penetration of the loop by the needle advancing for the second time.

Now heretofore the looper assembly in a linker has usually included a single looper operating lever arranged to be actuated from two opposed rotary cams-one designed to impart the horizontal components and the other to impart the vertical components of the combined motion of the looper. Such opposed cams, however, tend to cause excessive vibration and bounce at high speeds, thereby making high speed running of the linker impracticable. Moreover, the opposed rotary cams, acting on rollers at respectively opposite sides of the looper operating lever, provide for no adjustments of the horizontal or vertical extents of the motion of the looper; this naturally restricts the flexibility of the machine.

Quiet apart from these disadvantages, the size of the loop formed by a looper in a conventional linker is largely predetermined by the size of the looper. Any desired variation in the size of the loop to meet with particular requirements could previously only be achieved either by replacing the looper for another of a diflerent size which, in practice, often involved the use of another linker, or by changing the cams.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing disadvantages and difficulties by the provision, in a linker as herein defined, of a looper of improved form and improved mechanism for actuating the same, as will be hereinafter described.

Thus, an aim of the invention is to provide an improved looping mechanism designed to form and throw oft the loops on to the curved needle in a more har monic, simple and efiicien-t manner than hitherto, whilst at the same time taking full advantage of the said needle.

According to this invention, the improved looper is a compound one comprising a pair of companion elements normally providing a closed bill or beak capable of penetrating and receiving a bight of thread presented thereto by the reciprocating needle on a first advance thereof, these elements being relatively movable, upon retirement of the needle, to open the bill or beak and thereby spread the received bight into a loop suitably disposed for penetration by the needle during a second advance.

A-dvantageously, each of the said two elements of the compound or bi-partite looper may comprise a shank or stem from which extends an operative protuberant formation, in which instance the two elements are so relatively disposed that the pair of protuberant formations normally lie either one on top of the other or alongside one another to provide the aforementioned bill or beak, whereas relative longitudinal movement of the two shanks or stems will effect a transverse separation of the protuberant formations suchwise as to open up into a loop a bight of needle thread previously received by the bill or beak.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the shank or stem of each of the two companion elements of the looper consists of a straight substantially vertically leg from the lower end of which extends a horizontal or nearly horizontal foot. Thus, in this embodiment relative vertical movement of the two elements results in vertical, i.e. transverse, separation of the two feet for the purpose in view.

In any event, in addition to an appropriate relative movement of the companion elements for the purpose of opening up and spreading a bight of needle thread into a readily penetrable loop, the said elements are movable to and fro together to advance the compound looper towards and retract it from the reciprocating needle at required times.

Preferably, one of the two elements is maintained stationary while the other is moved relatively thereto to elfect transverse separation of the protuberant formations constituting the bill or beak.

The looping device has the general appearance of a miniature pair of shears with blunted edges.

The bi-partite construction of the improved looper is especially advantageous in that it obviates the necessity for the employment of two opposed rotary cams functioning together to control the compound motion of a single looper operating lever. Instead, it is now possible to adopt, in accordance with an important feature of the invention, two separate and distinct looper operating members-one to eifect and control the rectilinear advancing and retracting movements of the looper as a whole, and the other to effect the relative movements of the companion elements when opening up engaged bights of the needle thread. This, in turn, not only enables separate and simplified rotary cams to be used so as to eliminate, or at least substantially reduce, vibration at high speeds, but also makes possible, by simple adjustments of the mechanism, variations in the extents of the movements imparted to the looper and to the appropriate element of the latter.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practical effect, one specific constructional example thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,

FIGURE 1 is a general perspective view of so much of a linker as is necessary to illustrate the application thereto of the improved looper and the mechanism for actuating the same,

FIGURE 2 is a somewhat similar view of the said linker and looper but as seen from a different angle,

FIGURE 3 is a general perspective view of the looper and the operating members for the same,

FIGURES 4 and 5 are front and rear elevational views respectively of the same, 7

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the rotary cam for effecting and controlling the rectilinear advancing and retracting movements of the looper, and

FIGURES 7-10 constitute a series of perspective diagrams illustrating the manner in which the companion elements of the improved looper co-operate with the reciprocatory needle during successive stages of the linking action hereinafter to be described.

Like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawings.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the dial 1 of the linker is furnished with a circular series of radially extending individual points P. The conventional curved needle of the linker, arranged to reciprocate radially and to work through fabric or loops on the points P, is indicated at 3. The said needle is secured in the usual Way in an arm d'which is adapted to be oscillated from the main shaft 5 of the linker through known drive connections forming no part of the present invention. The needle carries a thread t. The dial 1 is slowly rotated from the main shaft 5 through known drive transmitting means encased in an arm 6 and an associated vertical column 7 of conventional form. The linker includes a compound looper or improved bi-partite form designated generally by the letter L, and this looper has an element (hereinafter to be described) which is movable up and down, in combination with a to and fro bodily movement of the looper transversely with respect to the needle 3. Thus, and as will be well understood by those acquainted with such linkers, the needle 3 and the looper L co-operate, in conjunction with a stitch plate 8, to sew together with a simple chainstitch garment parts of the points P.

In accordance with the present invention the bi-partite looper L consists of two vertically disposed shanks or legs 9 and 10 of different lengths which, as shown more clearly in FIGURES 3 and; 4, are arranged side by side in relative sliding contact. The shorter shank or leg 9 is fixed, by means of a screw 11, within a suitably recessed carrier block 12, whereas the longer shank or leg 10 is free to be moved vertically up or down, within limits, within this same block. A cover plate 13 secured upon the front of the block 12 maintains the shanks or legs 9 and 10 in the recess in the blockr The screw 11, which extends through a vertical slot lzar formed in one side of the carrier block 12, is screwed into a tapped hole formed in the shank or leg 9;, and the-head 11a. of the screw bears upon the said side of the block; In this way provision is made for heightwise adjustment of the fixed shank or leg 9 within the -cover; block, Extending laterally from the lower end of the longer shank or leg 10 is a substantially horizontal pointed foot 10a having a straight lower edge and a some-' what inclined upper edge 1%. The shorter shank or leg 9 has extending laterally therefrom a nearly horizontal but; slightly downwardly directed pointed foot 9a the lower edge 9b of which is inclined to the same degree as the upper edge 10b of the foot 101:. Moreover, the pointedtouter end of the foot 9a is notched to provide a thread-engaging shoulder 90. Whenever the longer shank or leg It) is drawn up vertically through the carrier block 12, the two feet 9a and 10a are closed together one above the other to provide a bill or'beak (see FIGURES 7 and 10). During the formation of each successive stitch, however, the vertically movable longer shank or leg 16 is moved down to effect a transverse or vertical separation of the feet as shown in FIGURES 8 and 9.

The entire looper unit is mounted upon an L-shaped bracket 14 (FIGURES 3 and 5)v adapted to be bolted in position upon any convenient fixed part of the framework of the linker. As will be seen this bracket has formed therein horizontal slots 14a to enable the loop to be adjusted forwards or backwards in relation to the reciprocatory needle 3.

The upper end of the vertically movable shank or leg 19 is articulated, by a pin-and-slot connection 15, 16 to i the outer end of one arm 17a of a two-armed lever 17 (FIGURES 3-5). This lever is arranged to fulcrum about a pivot screw 18 set in the upper end of a vertical post 19 secured by two screws 26 (FIGURE 5) to the shorter limb of the L-shaped bracket 14-. As shown clearly in FIGURE 2, the underside of the other arm 17b of the lever 17 is arranged in contact with the periphery of an edge cam 21 rotatable together with the conventional cam shaft 22 of'the linker. This shaft is, of course, driven from the main shaft 5 in the usual way through suitable gearing. Thus, as the cam 21 continuously rotates, the vertically movable shank or leg 10 is moved up and down within the carrier block to effect successive vertical separation of the feet 9a and 10a. To vary the extent of this separation of the feet, and hence also the size of the triangular loop I to be produced (see FIGURE 9), the fulcrum of the lever 17 may be adjusted heightwise. Such an adjustment may be effected most readily in either of the following two ways, viz. (a) by forming the post 19 with a vertical slot, such as that indicated in chain lines at 23 in FIGURE 5, so that the pivot screw 18 can be set in either a higher or a lower position, or (b) by making the bracket 14 adjustable heightwise and setting it either higher or lower.

In an alternative unillustrated embodiment of the invention wherein. the arm 17b of the lever, instead of being arranged in direct contact with the edge cam 21, is furnished with a roller for contact with said cam, 21 variation in the extent'of the separation of the feet 9:: and 10a couldjbe achieved by varying the size of the said roller.

The carrier block 12 in the illustrated example is secured by a screw 24 (FIGURE 5) upon one end of a horizontal bar 25 which is slidable to and fro rectilinearly within a fixed slideway 26. This slideway, as can be seen in FIGURE 3, consists of a pair of L-section bars 26a and 26b, which are attached by two further screws 27 to the shorter limb of the bracket 14. The end of the bar 25 remote from the carrier block 12 is furnished at the front with a roller 28 arranged to extend into an appropriately contoured groove or track 29a (FIGURE 6) formed in the back of a rotary cam 29 secured on the cam shaft 22. Consequently, rotation of this second cam 29 efliects the horizontal advancing and retracting movements of the looper L. However, to enable the full extent of the advance of the companion looper elements to be adjusted for the purpose of varying the obliquity of the loop with respect to the needle 3, the bar 25 is slotted horizontally at 25a and the screw 24 is arranged to extend through the slot, so that the carrier block 12 can be adjusted forwards or backwards along the said bar.

The edge cam 21, e.g. of nylon, may be simply secured upon the front of the rotary groove cam 29 by means of screws 30. Hence, by arranging these screws to extend through arcuate slots 2% formed in the cam 21, provision is made for effecting angular adjustments of the cams 21 and 29 relatively to one another. The tapped holes to receive the screws 30'are' indicated at 31 in FIGURE 6.

In the series of diagrams constituted by FIGURES 7-10, the few individual dial points P shown are distinguished from one another by the references P1, P2, P3 and P4to facilitate the following description of the linking action.

Thus, in FIGURE 7 the needle 3, having already advanced and penetrated the fabric loops fl on the point P3 and also the needle loop nl of the point P2, is in the course of being withdrawn. The looper L, moreover, has been moved forwards to the needle 3 along a horizontal line in the direction of the arrow A, with the shank or leg raised, so that the closed bill constituted by the superimposed feet 9a and 10a has penetrated and received on the shoulder 90 the bight b of the thread t presented by the needle, i.e. the portion of thread which is to become the needle loop of the point P3.

The closed bill holds the engaged bight b while the needle 3 is fully withdrawn, whereupon the shank or leg 10 is moved down vertically to separate the feet 9a and 10a and to open out the said bight into a comparatively wide triangular needle loop 121 of the point P3 as illustrated in FIGURE 8, in which figure the needle 3 is shown advancing again. In FIGURE 9, the advancing needle 3 has penetrated the fabric loops fl on the point P4 and also entered the spread needle loop n1 of the point P3. Finally, in FIGURE 10, the shank or leg 19 has been raised to close the lower foot 18a up to the upper foot 9a, and the looper L is in the course of being horizontally withdrawn in the direction of the arrow B to throw ofi the needle loop nl of the point P3 on to the still advancing needle, thus completing the cycle for one stitch.

In all other respects the looper L and the needle 3 function together in the conventional manner to produce the stitching.

If, as may be, knitted garments are to be sewn together with a combined overchain stitch and lockstitch, then a second thread would be fed through the fixed element 9 of the improved looper L.

We claim:

1. A linker for stitching together parts of knitted garments and comprising, in combination, a framework, a rotary dial mounted on said framework and having a series of circular radially-extending individual points adapted to pierce and support fabric garment parts during a linking operation, a main shaft rotatably mounted, said shaft being associated with said rotary dial and capable of rotating it, a lever pivotally mounted on said framework, a curved needle carried by said lever, means for oscillating said lever in order to reciprocate said needle through fabric on said points, a looper consisting of a pair of straight laterally-adjacent shanks each having a foot-like formation extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the shank, said pair of foot-like formations normally lying adjacent one another to provide a closed bill extending at right angles to the path of movement of said needle, means for effecting relative movements of said shanks in one direction to separate said foot-like formations in order to open the bill and in the opposite direction to bring said foot-like formations together to close the bill, and means for rectilinearly moving said looper at required times towards and away from, and in a path at right angles to, the path of movement of said needle.

2. A linker for stitching together parts of knitted garments and comprising, in combination, a framework, a rotary dial carried by said framework and furnished with a circular series of radially-extending individual points for piercing garment parts and supporting the same during a linking operation, a lever which is pivotally mounted on said framework, a curved needle carried by said lever, the lever being oscillatable about the pivotal mounting to reciprocate the needle through the fabric on the said points, a looper, means for moving said looper in a path at right angles to, and towards and away from, the path of travel of the needle, said looper consisting of a pair of straight shanks from each of which extends an operative foot-like formation extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the shank, the pair of foot-like formations normally lying in closely adjacent positions in which they together provide a closed bill for penetrating and receiving a bight of thread presented thereto by the needle when the looper has been moved by the said means towards the needle, means for effecting, upon retirement of the needle, relative movement of the elements of the bill to open the bill and spread the received bight into a loop for penetration by the needle during the next advance of the needle, the looper then being retracted by the said means from the needle to throw-off on to the needle the spread loop.

3. A linker for stitching together parts of knitted garments and comprising, in combination, a framework, a rotary dial mounted on said framework and having a series of radiallyextending individual points for piercing and supporting garment parts during a linking operation, a main shaft pivotally mounted on said framework and which is attached to and rotates said dial, a rotatably mounted cam shaft attached to and driven from said main shaft, a lever pivotally mounted on said framework, a curved needle mounted on said lever, said lever being oscillatable about its pivot to cause said needle to reciprocate and work through garment loops on said points, a bracket mounted on said framework, a horizontal slideway mounted upon said bracket and extending at right angles to the path of travel of said needle, a horizontal bar slidable within said slideway, a carrier block mounted upon said bar, two vertically-disposed laterallyadjacent shanks mounted within said carrier block, one of said shanks being fixed to said block, and the other being free to move vertically in said block in sliding contact with said fixed shank, each shank having an operative foot extending transversely to the length of the shank in a direction towards and extending horizontally at right angles to the path of travel of said needle, said two feet normally extending one upon the other to provide a closed bill, a fixed vertical post mounted upon said bracket, a two-armed lever pivotally-mounted on said post, one arm of said lever being articulated to the vertically movable shank, a first cam mounted upon said rotary cam shaft and arranged in contact with the other arm of said two-armed lever, thereby to move said movable shank down to separate the superimposed feet in order to open the bill and move the movable shank up to close the bill, and a further cam on said rotary cam shaft arranged to move said bar along said slideway.

4. A linker for stitching together parts of knitted garments and comprising, in combination a framework, a rotary dial carried by said framework and furnished with a circular series of radially-extending individual points for piercing garment parts and supporting the same during a linking operation, a main shaft from which said dial is rotated, a cam shaft driven from said main shaft, a lever whichis pivotally mounted on said framework, a curved needle carried by said lever, the lever being oscillatable to cause the needle to reciprocate and work through loops on the points, a bracket mounted upon said framework, a horizontal slideway provided upon said bracket and extending at right angles to the path of travel of the needle, a horizontal bar slidable within said slideway, a carrier block mounted upon said bar, two vertically-disposed laterally-adjacent shanks mounted within said carrier block, one of the said shanks being fixed to said block, while the other is free to be moved vertically up and down in the said block in sliding contact with said fixed shank, each shank having an operative foot extending transversely to the length of the shank in a direction towards and extending horizontally at right angles to the path of travel of the needle, the two feet normally extending one upon the other to provide a closed bill, a fixed vertical post mounted upon said bracket, a two-armed lever pivotally-mounted upon said post, one arm of said lever being articulated to the vertically-movable shank, a first cam mounted upon said rotary cam shaft and arranged in contact with the other arm of the said two-armed lever, thereby to move said movable shank down to separate the superimposed feet to open the bill and to move the movable shank up to close the bill, a further cam on the said rotary cam shaft arranged to move the said bar along the slideway Whereby, when the needle is advanced by said lever a first time during a linking cycle and the bill, held in the closed position by said first cam and said two-armed lever, is moved rectilinearly towards the advanced needle by said further cam acting upon said bar, said bill penetrates and receives a bight of thread presented thereto by the needle and, when the needle has been retracted by said lever, the movable shank is moved down by said first cam to separate the superimposed feet and open the bill for the purposesof spreading the received bight into a triangular loop for penetration by the needle during a secondadvance thereof, said bill being thereafter retracted, by said cam acting upon said bar, thereby to throw ofl? on to the needle the spread loop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.2l-,64-5 Henry Dec. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 579,521 Great Britain a. June 28, 1933 

1. A LINKER FOR STITCHING TOGETHER PARTS OF KNITTED GARMENTS AND COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A FRAMEWORK, A ROTARY DIAL MOUNTED ON SAID FRAMEWORK AND HAVING A SERIES OF CIRCULAR RADIALLY-EXTENDING INDIVIDUAL POINTS ADAPTED TO PIERCE AND SUPPORT FABRIC GARMENT PARTS DURING A LINKING OPERATION, A MAIN SHAFT ROTATABLY MOUNTED, SAID SHAFT BEING ASSOCIATED WITH SAID ROTARY DIAL AND CAPABLE OF ROTATING IT, A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAMEWORK, A CURVED NEEDLE CARRIED BY SAID LEVER, MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID LEVER IN ORDER TO RECIPROCATE SAID NEEDLE THROUGH FABRIC ON SAID POINTS, A LOOPER CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF STRAIGHT LATERALLY-ADJACENT SHANKS EACH HAVING A FOOT-LIKE FORMATION EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE SHANK, SAID PAIR OF FOOT-LIKE FORMATIONS NORMALLY LYING ADJACENT ONE ANOTHER TO PROVIDE A CLOSED BILL EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID NEEDLE, MEANS FOR EFFECTING RELATIVE MOVEMENTS OF SAID SHANKS IN ONE DIRECTION TO SEPARATE SAID FOOT-LIKE FORMATIONS IN ORDER TO OPEN THE BILL AND IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO BRING SAID FOOT-LIKE FORMATIONS TOGETHER TO CLOSE THE BILL, AND MEANS FOR RECTILINEARLY MOVING SAID LOOPER AT REQUIRED TIMES TOWARDS AND AWAY FROM, AND IN A PATH AT RIGHT ANGLES TO, THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID NEEDLE. 